NERD Game Scores: Noah Syndergaard Debut Event

Devised originally in response to a challenge issued by viscount of the internet Rob Neyer, and expanded at the request of nobody, NERD scores represent an attempt to summarize in one number (and on a scale of 0-10) the likely aesthetic appeal or watchability, for the learned fan, of a player or team or game. Read more about the components of and formulae for NERD scores here.

Most Highly Rated Game
New York NL at Chicago NL | 20:05 ET
Syndergaard (N/A) vs. Arrieta (37.0 IP, 74 xFIP-)
This contest represents the major-league debut of Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard, a young and giant Dutch-American who was ranked first overall among Mets prospects this past offseason by Kiley McDaniel and 19th overall among every prospect by that same Kiley McDaniel. The 22-year-old Syndergaard features a promising combination of physical tools and performance. Here, for example, is his average fastball velocity (according to PITCHf/x) over the course of two appearances in the annual Futures Game: 96.54 mph. And here, also, are his strikeout and walk rates over 29.2 innings this season at Triple-A Las Vegas: 30.1% and 7.1%, respectively. Syndergaard receives the promotion as a result of an injury to Dillon Gee, although there are likely multiple possible scenarios in which he never returns to the minors.

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Chicago NL or New York NL Television.

Two Brief Notes
Franco Promotion Imminent
The Phillies are likely to recall prospect Maikel Franco at some point on or after Friday, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Franco was ranked second among Phillies prospects this past offseason by Kiley McDaniel, and 38th among all prospects everywhere. Both his projections and his batting record so far at Triple-A this season (where he’s recorded walk and strikeout rates of 3.8% and 18.3%, respectively, over 131 plate appearances) suggest that might have some difficulty controlling the strike zone at the major-league level. In the long term, however — especially in light of his youth (he’s only 22) — there’s considerable cause for optimism.

Today’s Free Game
Today’s free game features San Francisco at Houston, starts at 8:10pm ET, and can be accessed by means of this hyperlinked text.

Complete Schedule
Here’s the complete and very sortable table for all of today’s games. Pitching probables and game times aggregated from MLB.com and also the rest of the internet. Note that the calculations both for team and game NERD scores have changed recently to better integrate playoff odds into same. Read more about those changes here, if you’re the sort of person accustomed to making poor life decisions.

Away		SP	Tm.	Gm.	Tm.	SP		Home	Time
Lance Lynn	STL	9	5	8	7	10	CLE	Carlos Carrasco	18:10
A.J. Burnett	PIT	6	6	4	1	3	PHI	Sean O’Sullivan	19:05
Mark Buehrle	TOR	5	7	5	6	3	BAL	Chris Tillman	19:05
Kyle Gibson	MIN	2	3	3	4	4	DET	Alfredo Simon	19:08
M. Foltynewicz	ATL	5	3	5	5	5	CIN	Anth. DeSclafani	19:10
Nathan Eovaldi	NYA	8	6	8	5	10	TB	Chris Archer	19:10
Edinson Volquez	KC	6	7	5	3	5	TEX	Nick Martinez	20:05
No. Syndergaard*	NYN	11	6	8	5	9	CHN	Jake Arrieta	20:05
Chris Sale	CHA	10	1	6	3	7	MIL	Mike Fiers	20:10
Chris Heston	SF	7	3	7	10	7	HOU	Collin McHugh	20:10
St. Strasburg	WAS	9	5	8	6	10	AZ	Rubby de la Rosa	21:40
Justin Masterson	BOS	2	5	5	6	6	OAK	Drew Pomeranz	22:05
Kyle Kendrick	COL	2	4	4	5	4	LAA	C.J. Wilson	22:05
Dan Haren	MIA	4	4	6	9	8	LAN	Mike Bolsinger*	22:10
Ian Kennedy	SD	7	4	6	5	8	SEA	James Paxton	22:10

* = Fewer than 10 IP, NERD at discretion of very handsome author.